Khagen Bezbaruah

Pathak · Paramankhowa · Tihu, Nalbari · Living custodian · Oja-Pali & Nagara Naam

Tihu Pathak who leads a Nagara Naam troupe while carrying Oja-Pali and Juna Naam — profiled by the Sentinel.

Family craft

Of Paramankhowa (Ward 5, Tihu Municipal Board, Nalbari). Youngest of four brothers; father Pratap Bezbaruah was known for Oja-Pali, Daina-Pali, and Juna Naam, including All India Radio Guwahati broadcasts. Khagen took up the family line from age 16.

Forms he keeps

For decades he has performed Oja-Pali, Daina-Pali, and Juna Naam across Nalbari, Baksa, Kamrup, and Barpeta. For about fifteen years he has also led a Nagara Naam troupe at religious and cultural events across Assam, and trained his whole family in these forms.

Living hardship

Sentinel and Prag News (2026) describe him as a folk custodian who still supports his family through sharecropping and wage labour, with little government artiste support — a reminder that many Pathak lineages remain under-documented and under-resourced.

• Pathak
• Pathak in Nalbari
• Nagara Naam in Assam